The Civil War was, by far, one of the bloodiest events in American history. Such an event devastated the nation, yet it did not happen on its own accord. A country divided politically, socially, economically, and geographically, each unfolding event drove America toward the brink of the Civil War. Prior to the war – the 1800s – many issues over politics, status of slaves, and the economy plagued the country. The North and South were divided upon these issues and continued to drift further apart with every compromise, movement, and legal decision, increasing violence and hostility on both sides. Although there existed many causes of the Civil War, in the end, the two most important causes of the Civil War were political and social. Political events including the Dred Scott Decision and the States’ Rights Doctrine before the Civil War increased tensions between the North and South. These conflicts resulted from contrasting ideas about slavery, states’ rights, and political parties: the North was mostly Republican, opposed slavery, and preferred a unified nation under the federal law, while the South was mostly Democratic, proslavery, and supported greater rights and power for states. According to Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, the Supreme Justice during this time, “the Act of Congress which prohibited a citizen from holding and owning property of this kind [slaves] in the territory of the United States north of the line therein mentioned is not warranted by the Constitution, and is therefore void” (Dred Scott v. Sandford). Since the ban of slavery in the northern part of the western territory was deemed unconstitutional and lifted by the Dred Scott Decision, an attempt to settle the issue of slavery, the North f... ... middle of paper ... ...nists and southerners alike, disliked this document – the prior felt it was unfair to the slaves and the civilians while the latter felt the act was not enough to protect slavery. The issue of slavery was still far from resolved, growing worse in intensity and existing in all social classes, even when the Fugitive Slave Act was repealed and a new compromise was made. By the time of the Civil War, a person’s position on slavery mostly determined which part of society he belonged to – the North or the South. Political and social causes launched the Civil War as the most significant causes of the war. Representing the conflicting opinions of the people, government decisions and social movements/ideas clashed. Problem after problem accumulated until violence ruptured. With no other option to resolve the conflicts, for America, the Civil War was inescapable.
The loose interpretation of the Constitution by Chief Justice Marshall had greatly infuriated and scared the Southerners because if the government could regulate interstate commerce, then it could one day regulate slavery; it's technically commerce. Therefore, states such as South Carolina passed the Negro Seamen Act, which was later struck down unconstitutional, greatly hit the issue of slavery. South Carolinians had great bases for their beliefs because of the recent Denmark Vesey uprising.
There were many problems, events, and situations that led to the Civil War. One of the major reasons for the outbreak of the war was sectionalism. Once the United States was split, many of the country's fundamental issues were disputed, with slavery being at the top of the list. Some of the other major issues in dispute were representation, tariffs, and states' rights. Sectionalism is defined as, the sharp socio-economic differences that divided the Northern and the Southern states in the U.S.
Even though geographic and economic disputes were considered important, mainly political and social differences gave birth to the Civil War. Unable to agree about the amount of rights a state deserved, the North and South fell further away from each other. This division increased as the Fugitive Slave Law was passed and when the final verdict of Dred Scott’s case was announced. Abolitionist attempts to end slavery continued to separate the splitting sides. All in all, the Civil War started out as political and social discords, but grew into a full-scale battle deciding the fate of our nation.
Between the economic, political, and social quarrels that evolved throughout the 1850's, the North and the South underwent many changes that led to the start of the Civil War. The most attributing factor to this war was that of a moral dispute between two sections who both wanted different things. Slavery became the issue that spread across the nation and was disputed back and forth between the North and South sections of the country.
...om’s Cabin in 1852, the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, the Dred Scott Decision of 1857, John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry in 1859, and the outcome of the Presidential Election of 1860—created conditions where Southerners felt the need to secede from the United States (they felt that their “way of life” was being threatened), as well as created conditions where the Northerners decided to go to war against the Southern Confederacy in order to maintain the Union. It is not surprising, however, that the Civil War occurred; since the Industrial Revolution, the Industrial North had always been different than the Agricultural South. If each region paid more attention to resolving the issues that separated them, instead of trying to prove themselves right, they could have stopped the bloodiest battle in American history (even though this is using hindsight knowledge).
Constitutionally the North favored a loose interpretation of the United States Constitution, and they wanted to grant the federal government increased powers. The South wanted to reserve all undefined powers to the individual states themselves. The South relied upon slave labor for their economic well being, and the economy of the North was not reliant on such labor or in need of this type of service. This main issue overshadowed all others. Southerners compared slavery to the wage-slave system of the North, and believed their slaves received better care than the northern factory workers received from their employers. Many Southern preachers proclaimed that slavery was sanctioned in the Bible. Southern leaders had constantly tried to seek new areas into which slavery might be extended (Oates 349).
The cause of the Civil War is difficult to diagnose entirely. Historian James G. Randall puts forward an agreeable argument that the Civil War stemmed from the divide between the secessionists and abolitionists. Both parties exaggerated the differences between the two sections and would lead the Union towards war. Randall claims that the North and South were fundamentally alike and slavery was not the fundamental cause of the war. These differences regarding the issue of slavery would be then exaggerated by the sections to create a background of distrust too great to overcome. The abolitionists, in particular, turned political differences over slavery to be settled by compromise. The inability to compromise would be driven by the rift
The North strongly agreed with the contribution of the government in affairs. However, the Southern states felt bitter towards the Federal government's involvement. The South believed that their rights were being taken away from them. The State rights symbolized the Southern states opposition to the Federal government's laws against segregation and racial discrimination. The South were extremely racist and refused to the idea of possible change. The South’s everyday life depended on slavery. Therefore, when the federal government created laws to stop racial discrimination, the South felt as if their rights were being taken away from them. Another States contribution was the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln. For example,” In the year 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States of America. Lincoln was a proud republican that felt strongly against slavery in the United States. Abraham Lincoln was recognized to be an anti-slavery member (Staff).” This infuriated the South region. The South felt bitter towards Lincoln's election making the President of the United States. The South felt that Abraham was against them and that he did not care about their potential needs. Ultimately, the Federal government angered the South and contributed to the American Civil
One of the main factors I feel like contributed and as well as started the Civil War was the political, cultural, and economic issues that were going on at the time. I personally feel like the division of the North and South was one of the main factors to the beginning of the Civil War. There was multiple situations when Northern and Southern congressmen had tried to get on an equal playing field but that came to a stop fairly quick. Things like slavery and slave labor were also some huge factors that had developed over time that contributed and continued the civil war that was taking place at the time.
What was the root cause of the Civil War? First, what was the Civil War? The Civil War was a war between the North (Union) and the South (Confederacy), which started from 1861 through 1865. This war was the most deadliest, most destructive war in American history, taking away 600,000 lives. The northerners viewed this war as a revolution while the southerners viewed this war as a War of Rebellion or War for Southern Independence. Slavery was the root cause of the Civil War. Slavery also influenced many factors such as territorial expansion, economic tensions, and political alignments.
By April 1861 America was at a breaking point. Tensions had been rising for years and things had finally boiled over. Americans were at war with each other. What had caused this once united nation to become so bitterly divided? There had been many contributors leading up to the outbreak of the Civil War. Things like the Fugitive Slave Act had enraged Northerners and caused a deeper divide between states. The book Uncle Tom’s Cabin had fired up both the Fire-Eaters and the Abolitionists alike. Though many events lead to the outbreak of the Civil War, three stand out in particular. These events were the catalyst that lead to the explosion of the Civil War. The Kansas-Nebraska Act, the California Gold
The American civil war had an immense impact of negativity regarding the split of the United States due to the disagreement that split the United states in half. The main cause of the civil war was the difference between the north abolishing slavery and the south expanding slavery, which started this whole war. Another major cause that the civil war’s turn out was because of the 16th president Abraham Lincoln which instituted the law that abolished slavery. An addition cause of the Civil War was due to the south losing its money when the law of abolishing slavery would pass, due to all the south's companies being runned by slaves that do all the work without pay which profits the south. These were the main reasons why the American Civil War
Bloodshed, disunity, and dismay—the effects of the horrific war that divided our country. The Civil War, lasting from 1861-1865, marked a change when the North and South took violent measures in the fight for their beliefs. However, the feud between the North and South began long before the war in the antebellum period. In fact, tension built by almost every action taken by the opposing side, triggering the war. These conflicts could be divided into bigger categories, which prompted violence. Although many events contributed to hostilities, political disagreements and economical differences sparked major disputes, ultimately leading to the Civil War.
One of the causes of the civil war was slavery .the south was for slavery and the north was against slavery the south also wanted to expand salvery to the west were the north strongly apposed that the south also wanted to be independent and thought that it was about states rights the south also hugly understimated the north about how powerfull they were and how ong the war would last the south thought it may last a couple weeks at the most and it ended up lasting a couple years
Slavery was the primary cause of the Civil War. It was an issue that the North hemisphere of the United States and the South hemisphere of the United States had polar opposite political stances on. The South utilized slavery to its benefit and were firm believers in slavery and believed that having slaves was their right; whereas, the North believed the complete opposite. When the right to slavery was being reviewed and attempted to be revoked, this caused a rebellion of the South and led the nation to the Civil War. The Civil War is a pivotal war that greatly affected America.